First Look: GoPro Hero Motorsports Wide camera

First Look: GoPro Hero Motorsports Wide camera

2:19 /
February 10, 2009

Small and easy to place nearly anywhere on a vehicle, the GoPro Hero Motorsports Wide camera is an extremely cost-effective way to document your high-speed hijinks; just make sure to buy your batteries in bulk.

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>> What's up everybody? This is Antoinne Goodwin, this is your first look at the Go Pro Hero Motor Sportswide digital camera system. Now the heart of the Go Pro Hero system is this very small, very basic wide angle digital camera. Now the other part of the system is gonna come right here. And that's this [inaudible] system that's gonna allow you to attach the Go Pro Hero camera to your car for recording all your high speed exploits. Now the camera itself features a one hundred and seventy degree wide angle view. And it can record up to an hour of video on a two gigabyte SD card. Now that card's not included, so BYO card. Video quality is good, as long as there's enough light. The resolution's about five hundred and twelve by three hundred and eighty four pixels. It's not HD, but it's good enough for YouTube. It also has a mode where it can take still photos at two second or five second interval. Now a tiny camera meant for harsh environments means that there's no color screen on the back. What you do get is this optical view finder, and a monochrome LCD on the front. Now the icons for selecting the mode are super microscopic, and they can be difficult to understand, so make sure you bring your instructions on the first outing, otherwise, you can find yourself selecting delete all photos when you meant take sequential photos. Now the mounting system features a shockproof, waterproof, clear plastic housing that keeps the camera safe from the elements. It's got button pass throughs so that you can activate the camera while it's secure and safe. We attached it to a car and really tossed it around, and the system barely shook at all. The Go Pro Hero system is gonna also ship with a collection of arm segments and adhesive mounts, so that you can get creative with your mounting. The main weakness with the system is gonna be the tiny LCD screen, and the battery life. It completely drains the two triple A batteries after about an hour and a half of video usage, so you're gonna want to pick up a lot of rechargeables, or you'll find yourself trackside with a dead camera.
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At the end of the day, I'm willing to forgive these minor inconveniences in light of the Go Pro Hero's ease of use, rugged utility, and flexible mounting options. I'm Antoinne Goodwin, and this has been your first look at the Go Pro Hero Motor Sportswide.
^M00:02:13
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